Instructions
by Runt the Brave
Summary: "We do what the Doctor's friends always do. As we're told." But the Doctor had a slightly different list of instructions...
1. Die

**A/N: A little Impossible Astronaut/Library fic... because, while I don't believe the Doctor dies stone dead in Utah, it did provide the setting for this. This is actually my first multichaptered Doctor Who ficlet, but it's probably even going to be shorter than some of my one chapter stuff... I might elaborate, maybe, when and if I have time, but for now, it stands as a three-chapter short story. And, also, did anyone wonder WHY the Doctor had a station wagon and not a TARDIS? It seems as if there's only one reasonable solution: he superseeded the fragment links and hotwired the binary, binary, binary...**

**Spoilers: Impossible Astronaut and Forest of the Dead**

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is not mine. I am neither British nor would I want that much power.**

Instructions

Chapter One

Die

Canton unfolded the crinkled paper and handed it to the battered, confused, grieving doctor of archeology. The entire page was covered in print, but one phrase stood out. Circled in three different shades of blue, a hideous tone of lime green, and darked by six or seven various oranges were the words, _don't let her see outside the doors!_ River immediately scanned the whole document before folding it up again and slipping it into a pocket. "I hate him," she complained, so softly that only Canton heard it.

He pressed his hand to her elbow and stepped around her, then proceeded to bend down and help Rory pull Amy away from his body. Loyal, lovely Amelia Pond protested with all the fight in her, but Rory and Canton proved too much for her. Shock slowly startle to settle in as she calmed into a silent state of vacant staring.

River set her jaw and turned from the river bank. She refused to let the overwhelming and annoying cascade of emotions become visible until she was back in her cell. Neither Amy or Rory or Canton – whoever he was – could see. She had a short mission for the Doctor and then: Space, 1969. As River climbed into the driver's side – her mind vaguely registered it as a completely American car, with the wheel on the wrong side and everything – Canton and Rory loaded Amy into the back of his van.

Her heart throbbed painfully when she recognized the wonderful TARDIS: this was the TARDIS she had learned to fly. It cooed at her gentle touch on the consul, and River almost reaching the breaking point. He was dead. Her Doctor was dead. Every bone in her body demanded that she protest and fight and deny everything she had seen in the last few minutes. He had left her a _list_ of things to do. Oh, but was he in trouble the next time she saw him. The younger him. The him that still existed.

A big, hot tear raced down River's cheek as she threw a lever. The disguised TARDIS hopped through the vortex and landed right next to the Doctor's body. River forced herself to walk out the doors and pull the body of her beloved into his space ship. Distantly, she could hear Amy asking what was happening, Rory trying to comfort him, and Canton telling both of the Ponds that he and River would be back shortly. More noticeably, she could hear the TARDIS whirring is disbelief and shock and grief. The rebellious part of River wanted to leave Canton behind and finish all the instructions herself. It should have been her right, this planned burial of his. But no. She was not allowed to see outside the doors of wherever the coordinates he gave her were.

And yet the instructions were so ludicrous, which really was the only thing that made River trust they were from him, that they had come from her Doctor. Canton appeared in the threshold of the TARDIS, a grim expression on his face. "Still okay, Doctor Song?"

She shook her head, brushing aside the hair on her Doctor's forehead. He had started to turn cold. "I'll fulfill his requests," River murmured, "but I won't like it."

She pulled away from the body and limped to the center of the room. She could still hear the TARDIS crying. Nothing could ever sound saddering then a mourning TARDIS. "Three more jumps," River murmured, "than you'll see Terra again. C'mon, dear one." The time machine fluttered and refused, absolutely refused to move. River's heart started the painful process of shattering. She couldn't hold it all together if the darling TARDIS fought her. "Please. For him."

The TARDIS cried, but flung herself to the coordinates River provided. A shimmer of shock ran through the precious space ship, but River couldn't decipher why. Canton opened the doors and pulled the Doctor's body out. River, for once, refused to let her curiosity rule her. He had requested that she not look out the door. She would honor that request. She didn't even try to figure out why he wanted Canton to place his screwdriver in some uplink port and then leave his body outside the TARDIS. It seemed like a poor send off. The archeologist leant against the TARDIS, trying so, so, so hard to keep the emotions under control. It would be impossible to stay calm around Terra, who was so similar to her Doctor.

Canton opened the doors and stepped back into the golden light of the TARDIS. "It is done."

River sagged. "I hate him. I hate him so much." Her husband was dead... her daughter pretty much linear... it felt like her family was falling apart.

"Yes ma'am," Canton said, a smirk plastered across his face.

She turned to the TARDIS, but the time machine responded without any directions and cascaded them into the vortex, twisted them through time, and landed them on the doorstep of the most impossible house that ever existed. Now it was Canton's turn to not look out the doors. River slowly stalked passed him, forcing her face into a calm mask. She stepped into the brilliant sunlight and refreshing wind. Their house was perched on the top of a cliff, overlooking an entire city. River looked at the TARDIS. Phone booth blue again.

"Mum!" Terra's voice rang from inside the house. "Mum!" She barrelled out of the doors and threw herself into her mother's open arms and started sobbing. River barely managed to the guide the two of them back inside their home before she too lost it and started crying. After a good long cry season, Terra pulled back and backhanded away the tears on her face. "When are you?"

"Still in Stormcage," River responded, knowing that her daughter was almost certainly further down the path than she was. Throughout most of the middle of her life with the Doctor, they had judged time on Terra. _Has she taken her first steps yet? Lost her first tooth? Started the teenager stage yet?_ She had been their linear-ness. The Terra who would come and visit her in the Stormcage had been between twelve and sixteen. This Terra was closer to eighteen or nineteen. "I just came from Utah," she murmured, "where he-" her voice cracked.

Terra nodded, "I know. He told me. He was acting really weird around the older you just before you left for this expedition, and then, I don't know. Something just felt so wrong with him."

River placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead. "He wants you to keep the TARDIS."

"No!" Terra jerked backwards, almost tripping over a flat surface. "It should be yours."

"Terra, honey, I still have to finish him meeting me. I can call you or him if I need a ride. Besides, I'm still stuck in prison."

Terra clenched her hands into a fist. "Fine, but I hate him for it."

"I know," River murmured, a smile quirking around the corners of her lips. "I've hated him forever."

The daughter of two time travelers grabbed her mother's hand. "You ready? Dad said I was supposed to take you back to Utah," she stuck her tongue out in a very negative, annoyed gesture. River slapped her on the back of the head. Terra rolled her eyes. "Come on Mom, let's go for a joy ride first."

"No," River said, "I want to get this over with. You can pick me up at the Stormcage later."

Terra shrugged. "Fine." They turned to walk out the window, both woman now in control of their thoughts and emotions. Terra skipped a little as she closed the door behind her. "Hey, Mom, seeing as I get the TARDIS now, does that mean I have to stay around here and be completely boring or can I _finally_ have my own adventures?"

"I don't think I could stop you," River said, unlocking the doors on the blue phone box. Canton looked a little surprised to see River with her arm around a young girl's shoulder, but he shrugged and didn't ask any other questions. River's opinion of him rose a few inches. He had been so calm and helpful. Terra bounded to the TARDIS consul and started chirping like an excited bird. The girl simply _loved_ to fly her father's old ship. She pranced, danced and practically sang. The TARDIS started to cheer up, just a little. Terra simply reeked with enthusiasm.

So much like the Doctor. River let her daughter fly the ship as she bit her lip, struggling not to cry. This next adventure would be like that for most of the time. "Okay Mom," Terra said, "and Sir-Whomever-You-Are, we're back in Utah. Two minutes after you left. Stay safe, Mom, okay?"

River nodded, "You too, Terra. Enjoy the ship." She and Canton existed the ship, joining Rory and Amy where the Doctor had died.

Terra wiped the tears away from her eyes, throwing the TARDIS back into the time vortex. Her Dad had told her much: the Library, Mom's current expedition would kill her. And now he himself was dead. Technically an orphan. The girl threw her hair over her shoulder and landed somewhere on Earth; her namesake planet. It did not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Next stop, everywhere.


	2. Dead

Instructions

Chapter Two

Dead

_He had died ten times before now, but this was different. _

Dead.

_There was no tingling sense of regeneration. _

Dead.

_Interesting feeling..._

Dead.

_Wonderment..._

Dead.

_So what came next?_

Dead.

"Doctor?" chirped a small little voice in his right ear. It sounded like his precious little Terra. Wait. He was dead. He shouldn't be able to hear or to think. Had his River been successful? Fuzziness. He felt like a computer. It was weird. Little bits and pieces. Strings of numbers. "Doctor?" The little voice asked, sounded a little scared. "Oh, please wake up!"

He opened his eyes and stared at the bright blue, cloudless sky. It had worked. The little girl, the girl from the Library stood above him, a smile on her face. She started to bounce on the heels of her feet. "River's going to be so happy! She's missed you so much!" Charlotte Abigail Lux bounced higher and higher. "I brought her friends, but I couldn't bring her you, or Terra. She was lonely, sad. I'm the only one she talks to sometimes. C'mon." Her grin widened and she offered the Doctor her little hand.

In Rassilon's name, she even looked a bit like Terra. The Doctor sat up and took the girl's hand. "So you're Charlotte?"

"Yeah," she grinned, helping him stand up. "But everyone calls me Cal. Beside's for River. She calls me Charlie. She's the only one allowed to call me Charlie." She twisted her fingers into his hand and started to drag him away from the grassy field. "You can call me Charlotte, however." The Doctor tried to say something to her, but she chattered away like a incredibly talkative parrot. River was like this, occasionally. Terra too. They had never stopped talking. Charlotte led him to a tiny shack by a small lake. The walk was short, and refreshing.

It felt good not to be dead anymore.

"She's in there," Charlotte said, smiling. "I assume you'd want to see her right away."

His heart thudded, almost painfully. She had every reason to hate him... Charlotte turned and ran away, her skirt fluttering in the wind. The Doctor stepped closer to the shack, still trying to shake the lingering doubts ringing in his ears. He still felt a little fuzzy. Like after a regeneration, but not after a regeneration. It was- weird... The Doctor knocked on the door to the little shack.

"Charlie, go away," her voice said, softly. She sounded so tired. Broken. That was his fault.

"I'm not Charlotte."

There was a thud and then a gasp. Some random sounds reached his ear. The door opened and she stared at him. Just like she had looked at the Derillium. Her brown curls were knotted at her neck. She was staring, staring, staring. Shocked. "Doctor?" She murmured. "But..." Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Utah?"

"Yup," he murmured. "I missed you." There was a pause.

She flew into his arms, sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her, dropping a kiss into her hair. They clung to each other. "You- you didn't know me. You didn't even like me. And-" He shifted his grip on her, stroking her back lovingly.

"I'm sorry, River. I'm so sorry."

She was shaking. "I hate you."

"I know."

"I _hate_ you."

"I _know_."

She paused. "Stuck up."

"Emotionalist."

"Flirt."

"Me?" He growled, half playfully, half annoyed. "River, darling, look at yourself."

River bit her lip, pulling away just enough to look up into his face. They stared at each other, lost in the depth of emotion in the other's eyes. Slowly, thoughtfully, she raised on her toes and he leaned down. They pressed their lips together in the most heartfelt kiss they had had since... well... Derillium. The kiss deepened to the point were neither of them noticed little Charlotte Abigail Lux skipping down to the shack and yelling, "River! Doctor! Dinner!" When they didn't respond, Charlotte peeked in on them, before promptly squeaking and running away from the shack.

The next morning, River and the Doctor appeared out of the shack and walked slowly back to the main building. Charlotte had created a communal home, with various different rooms for the different people. Other Dave and Anita had gotten married very shortly into their stay at the Library. Proper Dave and Miss Evangelista still danced around each other. Ella and Josh, the database children, lived under the care of all five adults. Dr. Moon avoided almost all connect with the two database children, throwing most of his energy into caring for Cal.

Miss Evangelista was cooking with Ella and Cal when River and the Doctor stepped into the kitchen. She took in River's content, happy expression and put two and two together. A smile danced over her face. "Hey, River, we missed you at dinner last night."

"I was busy," River said, rolling her eyes. "Where is everyone?" She smiled at the two young girls.

Charlotte giggled and poked her young friend. Ella looked confused. The girl in control of the Library piped up. "The Daves are annoying Dr. Moon; he really hates people who actually think. Josh isn't feeling well and Anita's with him. We're making cookies." She held up her flour covered hands and threw a handful of flour at the Doctor. He ducked and the white powered smacked River in the nose. Ella laughed and grabbed her own handful of flour, tossing it at Miss Evangelista. The two woman roared in fake protest and pounced on the girls, torturing them with a mixture of tickling and flour. The girls giggled and fought back. The Doctor jumped into the fray, grabbing handfuls of flour and joining the food fight.

After a few minutes, River and the Doctor ended up kissing as Miss Evangelista tried to keep Ella and Charlotte from watching. She wasn't very successful. The two little girls grabbed a whole bucket of flour, jumped on the table, and tipped the bucket of flour over the lovebirds. Flour cascaded over River and the Doctor. They pulled away, grinning and laughing. Miss Evangelista grabbed Ella and started to swing her through the air. The Doctor did the same thing for Charlotte.

River wiped flour out of her face. "This is the Doctor, Eva, you've meet a previous version of him, but, yeah, this is him. He'll be staying here now."

Miss Evangelista smirked. "And you were busy last night?"

"Shut up," River ordered, rolling her eyes.

Proper Dave appeared in the door to the kitchen and stared. He turned and walked away from the chaos and let the three adults try to finish making the cookies with the two girls. Hours later, the kitchen was practically destroyed.


	3. Alive

Instructions

Chapter 3

Alive

Charlotte Abigail Lux perched on the roof of her building and watched her family playing below. She loved her family. Ella and Josh could be little and young sometimes, but they loved the Doctor's stories. Dr. Moon had taken to avoiding the Doctor and River and only came out to talk to her occasionally, which hurt. Anita said he was jealous, but no one really believed that. The Doctor had been in the Library harddrive for almost a year now. And River and the Doctor couldn't have been happier unless Terra showed up. They missed Terra.

Charlotte twisted her hand into the fabric of her skirt. She wished River and the Doctor would see her as Terra. She loved them. She wanted to be their daughter. If only-

"Charlie?" River asked from the trapdoor. "What are you doing up here?"

The girl startled and almost fell from her perch. River caught her shoulders and steadied the little girl. "Thinking," Charlotte muttered, "and watching." Josh and Ella were playing with Anita below them. "Isn't life so wonderful?" River joined the girl on her perch, lifting the child up and into her lap. "Do you miss the outside? Do you miss your daughter? I don't remember the outside."

River wrapped her arms around the little girl's waist and dropped a soft kiss to Charlotte's hair. "Sometimes. But I love it here. And- yes, I miss Terra, but I have you."

A warm, fuzzy feeling started in Charlotte's toes. "Really?"

"Oh Charlie," River sighed, "darling. We love you. You've been our daughter for awhile now."

The happy feeling bubbled up and over, filling Charlotte's chest with warmth. A smile spread acorss her entire face. "The Doctor too? He loves me too?"

River smiled, "Yes. Come on, Charlie, let's go make cookies."

Charlotte laughed. "Can we destroy the kitchen again?"

"Of course," River said. She lifted Charlotte into her arms and together, the two of them climbed down into the house. They found the Doctor searching through his wardrobe in the suite of rooms he shared with River. He had tossed clothes everywhere, making a huge mess. River rolled her eyes. "Sweetie, what are you doing?"

"Looking for-" he disappeared into another wardrope and came out with a red fez. "gotcha!" He dropped the hat onto Charlotte's head. "What do you need me for?"

Charlotte lived her hands and inspected the thing on her head; she held it in front of her nose. She stared at it, apprehensively. "What is it?"

"A fez," the Doctor said, pressing a soft kiss to River's lips. She pushed him away, rolling her eyes.

"We're going to make cookies. Family activity." River grabbed his hand and pulled him and little Charlotte towards the kitchen.

Four hours, two ovens, and six pouds of flower later, they had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The three of them sat on one couch together, Charlotte wedged between the River and the Doctor. Their fingers were sticky with half melted chocolate. The Doctor was being... childish, like normal. "You've never read Dodger?" He sounded shocked. "It's a classic!" He reached out of the harddrive with his mind and made the book appear in Charlotte's lap. She had given him access to all the books in the Library ages ago.

Charlotte flipped open the pages of the book. "It's a children's book!" But she started reading it anyway. Before she finished, both Charlie and River were smiling behind tears. River leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder and stroked little Charlotte's head. When she was done, Charlotte threw the book back into the Library. "I'm going to go play with Ella and Josh," she said, stuffing another cookie in her mouth. She could sense that River wanted to talk to the Doctor. "Mum, can I-"

The little family froze. "I..." Charlotte stuttered. "Sorry." She started to run away.

"Charlie!" River cried. The little girl stopped. River jumped up from the couch. "Charlie, honey, turn around." The Doctor stood up behind his wife, placing a comforting hand on her back. Charlotte turned around, staring at the ground. River dropped to her knees and placed both hands on the little girl's shoulder. "I'll be your mother, didn't I tell you that?"

Charlotte nodded. "Thanks..." she smiled shly, "mum." She turned and ran from the room.

River's arms dropped her sides and she started to shake. The Doctor drew her into a comforting hug. He stroked her hair. "River, sweetie, you okay?"

"Yes," River choked, turning into his arms. "She's been apart of the family for so long now, but it seems..." Their first daughter when unmentioned.

"I know," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her check. "So do I."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, hungrily.

Charlotte lingered outside the door, watching her new mum and dad cautiously. She loved Dave, Dave, Anita and Miss Evangelista, sure, but it was River and the Doctor she loved the most. She was glad they were alive. She was glad they had been saved. They had a fariytale ending, just this once. They had received a happy ending. And Charlotte couldn't have been happier. She peeked back into the room and stared at her parents... They were... invovled... She squeaked and ran away.

She had read so many books and not all of them did have happy endings, but this one did.

Happily ever after.

Well, for everything but the kitchen.


End file.
